In honor of Mary Magdalene and her constituency’s attempt to spread the message of ahimsa, William Hearth has completed a 40 Day vegan juice fast. In preparation for attempting a 120~366 day micro-nutrient and ocean-water fast, Hearth attempts to prove that humans can live lightly on this planet, while remaining healthy and virulent even when they have past the age of 50. William Hearth is on day 42 [Oct 15, 2010] of a VEGAN juice fast (eating only plant-based liquids).

“My Goal you ask? My goal is to help people to understand that environmental activism began over 2,000 years ago, and not during our 20th century generation, as many are inclined to believe,” say William Hearth, author of ORMUS ~ The Secret Alchemy of Mary Magdalene Revealed, “The Jesus Movement, including Mary Magdalene and her constituents’ message, bespoke a world in which the Way of Peace, or ahimsa, would be the norm, rather than the exception. Deforestation began thousands of year ago, with the building of countless fortresses, war-ships, and other tools of war, most of which were used to destroy neighboring cultures and civilizations.”

Hearth goes on to say that, “People consume much more than they actually need and continue to waste resources needlessly on a daily basis, minute by minute.”

“Without a fundamental change in the way we live our lives on a day to day basis, there is little chance of the human race surviving into the 22nd Century, let alone into the year 2050.”

“It has been correctly observed that ‘shopping is a political act” and I would now like to point out that ‘eating is a political act’ in a very real and tangible sense…”

I’ve been a vegan-vegetarian for over 40 years and this year I’m performing a juice fast. I’ve been consuming approx. 90% fruit juice and 10% vegetable juice for over 4 weeks now. But I’ve only just begun! I’m aiming for 90~120 days at least.

~ Polymathius ~ A Compassionate Man of Ahimsa

Today, (Day 31:) I enter into the 2nd month of fasting on liquids. I am fasting as an act of gratitude; to acknowledge the bounty and blessings that Gaia, our Mother Earth bestows upon us, moment to moment; and to remind others that we all share a common responsibility to give back to our Mother The Earth and our Natural Environment.

Sustainability requires more than political activism. Sustainability begins at home and at the office, in our factories and our places of worship.

Day 31:I feel alert and energized. I sleep well and wake up early, refreshed and looking forward to a new day. I’ve been consuming 90% fruit juice and 10% vegetable juice for over 4 weeks now.

More on B12 content in Tempeh, Seaweeds, Organic Produce, and Other Plant Foods, below…

Summary: No food in Europe or the U.S. other than Japanese Nori, has been tested* for lowering MMA levels (*at the time of publication of this original article).

Thus, the discussion about whether Western vegans can get B12 from plant foods can, and probably should, end here (until proper research is conducted). Because so many plant foods have failed other tests that do not measure up to the MMA lowering test, and because there are so many false rumors being passed around, the studies of B12 in plant foods are examined in detail below.

The only plant foods which have been tested for B12 activity using the gold standard of lowering MMA levels in humans are dried and raw nori from Japan. Dried nori made MMA status worse, indicating that it can reduce B12 status and can possibly harm people who are B12-deficient. Raw nori kept MMA levels about the same, indicating that it didn’t harm B12 status, but it did not help either.

Of all the foods studied below, only tempeh in Indonesia or Thailand, dulse, Chlorella, raw nori, Aphanizomenon flos-aquae, and coccolithophorid algae warrant much further attention for providing B12. Unless these foods are shown consistently to correct B12 deficiency, vegans should not rely on them as a B12 source.

It would be great to find a reliable plant source of B12 for vegans. One might get the opposite impression given my level of critique of some of these studies. My skepticism is only due to the potential harm from relying on a food that contains inactive B12 analogues which can make a B12 deficiency even worse.